CARSS, William “Bill” Balfour Carss, Obituary

CARSS, William “Bill” Balfour – (Ret. S/L-CD) – Of Crown Ridge Retirement died suddenly at Trenton Memorial Hospital, on December 30th, 2015, one day after his 91st birthday.

Son of the late William Balfour and Ethel (Blewett) Carss.

Predeceased by his wife of nearly 65 years Ellen “Rae” Carss.

He will be sadly missed by his children Karen Carss of Brockville, Elizabeth Griffiths (Mike) of Trenton, Bill Carss (Eva) of London, ON and Jacquie Doucette (Gerry) of Winchester, his many grand-children and great-grand-children, his sister Irene Konkin of Saskatoon and her family, his sister-in-law Donna Hoffman of Surrey and her family, and many friends.

Born in Kamsack, Saskatchewan on December 29th, 1924, he grew up surrounded by friends with whom he maintained contact throughout his many moves. As a youngster, he was an avid hockey player and attended a try-out camp for the Detroit Red Wings. He joined the Fleet Air Arm of the Royal Navy towards the end of the Second World War, and returned to his bush pilot job in northern Manitoba when the war was over.

He rejoined the RCAF as a pilot in 1951, and was a member of 426,412 and 437 Squadrons. As a member of 412 SQN in Ottawa, he flew several VIP passengers including Queen Elizabeth and Prince Phillip during their visit to Canada in 1959, Elizabeth the Queen Mother in 1962, and Prime Minister Pierre Elliott Trudeau. His military career saw him stationed in Lachine, Ottawa and Trenton, flying North Stars, Comets, Yukons and the Boeing 707 as well as several small twin-engine and single-engine planes. Upon his retirement, Bill and Rae moved to a hobby farm in Tweed and spent several happy years there before returning to Kamsack to help care for his aging relatives.

Throughout his military career and later, he was an avid curler. As a life member of the Legion, he represented Legion Branch 110 in Trenton, Branch 428 in Tweed and Branch 24 in Kamsack in many bonspiels. He took up golf when he returned to Kamsack, and was proud of his hole-in-one at the golf course at Madge Lake. He also represented the Kamsack Legion in golf tournaments. The return to Trenton in 2003 brought Bill and Rae back to many old friends. The move to Crown Ridge in 2010 introduced new ones. Because they were important to him, he kept in touch with friends across the country after his retirement, through phone calls, cards and visits. He also wrote weekly letters to all his children, to stay active in their lives.

He touched many lives and he will be missed by all who knew him.

Private Family Arrangements out of Trenton.

As expressions of sympathy, donations to the charity of your choice would be appreciated by the family.

HastingsObituaries.com

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